Chambray

It seems that I only really like fragrances that are made only with ingredients that are botanical-based rather than synthetic-based, which has been quite limiting. I read somewhere that Madewell fragrances did not include any synthetics and the website copy seemed to suggest that as well, but it was worded in a way that made me wonder if it might have synthetics as well as botanicals and the ingredients list just says "fragrance". I got this fragrance as part of a sample set though, and I do feel like it is 100% botanical. The scent itself is just lovely, mixed floral but not too sweet at all, with some nice base notes. This may be the best "clean girl" fragrance that I have found, actually. The sillage is very light, but it's not that expensive of a fragrance ($65/50ml) and so I think that if I buy a bottle (unfortunately it's out of stock until July) I can be more liberal with it rather than just using one little spray from the sample bottle. It's lasted several hours, which is pretty good for a natural fragrance. A+. Here is the website copy: "Crafted with natural essences and oils from around the world, our first-ever fragrance line was designed for every day and every vibe—switch them out depending on your mood du jour. Light and soft, Chambray is the French-girl way to do floral. Starting with a bouquet of muguet (aka lily of the valley), it adds in delicate freesia and iris absolute noble (which, ooh la la, is one of the most expensive ingredients in perfumery). Feels like: your Parisian alter ego."

I also tried another Madewell floral fragrance called Ombre, which does not seem to be listed on Fragrantica (and there does not seem to be any way to add it). It is described on the Madewell website as follows: "With top notes of peony, bergamot and tea rose against magnolia, marine and sandalwood, Ombré is beautifully beachy. Feels like: that first Summer Friday." This is much more of a white floral than the Chambray one, fairly sweet but light, powdery, pleasant. I think this one is 100% botanical too. It smells more like an expensive floral scented soap than a perfume to me. This is not usually the kind of fragrance that I would wear, but this one is very nice and I think it might feel good on really hot days in summer. It is on sale on the Madewell website and so may be being discontinued though. All in all, I think that this is a very highly underappreciated fragrance brand and hope more people will try out the fragrances and share their thoughts before the whole line disappears.

I've got to say I don't love this. I understand the appeal it might have for others, though. As another reviewer says, it's a clean girl fragrance with a moderate sillage and decent longevity, especially for the price. I could see this being a good daytime/office scent. I do get amber in the opening, although for me it doesn't work with the florals. It even smelled slightly smoky to me at a certain point? Not sure where that came from. The drydown was just pure baby powder. Not a bad smell, but not what I was expecting from a perfume described as "floral amber".